Gloucester have applied for planning permission to have a giant screen on The Greene King Shed to show the match as it’s going on.

At the moment they currently have a smaller screen that displays adverts but Vaughan explained that they have reduced the advertising following complaints.

“We’re trying to get planning for a screen twice the size of that where it is at the moment, which we’re currently going through planning for,” said Vaughan.

“At the moment because we can’t get full planning, we have to run something through it during the game.

“We can’t run a game feed through it, which will eventually happen.

“What’s going to happen, just to allay your fears, is the same coverage that goes on the other two screens, which is the match score and adverts that run as normal, that’s the main objective for all of them.

“The end goal is to effectively get a jumbo screen that will show the whole match through, not to just show advertising all the way through.”

Gloucester are still working on recruitment but know who is leaving

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Humphreys explained that recruitment is taking longer than usual as head coach Johan Ackermann has been given time to assess the squad since arriving just before the start of the season to identify what they need to bring in.

The recruitment process for 2018-19 is still ongoing but Humphreys said they know which players will be leaving at the end of the season.

“Because we have a new coach, because Johan’s here and he’s taking time to get to know the players in the squad it’s taken some time to understand which players we see as part of longer term plan and who can adapt to the way we’re trying to play,” said Humphreys.

“We do know at this stage now who we want to keep, we know which players are leaving and those players have been informed.

“We’re now at a stage to see who we can bring in to strengthen the squad for next season. I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.”

Humphreys added: “There’s no question this year, because of the impact Johan’s had, because of the way we’re playing, because of the positive vibes coming out of the club, there are lots of players who are interested in joining Gloucester.”

Martin St Quinton also confirmed the club will continue to spend “within 10p” of the salary cap next season.

Ackermann defends rotation policy but selection will become more consistent

One of the hot topics was head coach Ackermann’s rotation policy and he was asked if that could have had an impact on the side’s recent inconsistency.

The South African gave a wide-ranging answer but he expects his selection to be more consistent when the Premiership resumes in February.

“I want a squad where I’ve got the utmost trust that every player will have the knowledge and the physical level to compete any day we need them,” said Ackermann.

“When you’ve got two players pushing each other for a starting position or three players even, for me to keep the huger, the desire and the motivation it’s all about game management.

“You can play all season with one player but what do you do if you don’t have that player in a semi-final or call it a must-win game to qualify or whatever and then suddenly that other player feels now he’s good enough to get an opportunity but wasn’t good enough during the season.

“Sometimes you look at the opposition and see the strength of the opposition or weaknesses and it’s maybe not big margins, it’s small margins that that player can add to the team and therefore you select a player.

“Medically as well, it would be great if we can spread the game-load over a period.

“Lastly, the reason why rotation is for me to make the best decisions I can going forward. Where’s the strength of this playing group and where not? You can only know that if you give the player a fair opportunity on the field to show what he can do and then we can make decisions going forward.

“It worked for me in the past. I still believe it can work.

“Come the end of these Anglo-Welsh games, we’re obviously into the business end of things and then the consistency will come similar to my coaching back home where I rotate a lot to a certain point and then I go to select the best 23 available.”

Those were the words of Ackermann as he spoke about adapting to the northern hemisphere after a five-year spell with the Lions in South Africa.

He also reiterated that it’s going to take time for Gloucester to compete against the best and says his big concern at the moment is the side’s inconsistency.

“I know we’re all about results and lifting trophies and I don’t feel like we can achieve that if we’re not at a place where we care about each other and where we play for the badge and love what we’re doing and to get that into everybody there’s still a way to go,” said Ackermann.

“With Super Rugby you’ve got a compulsory four-week tour, and in those four weeks together the players really bond and really become one.

“Although they’re a great bunch of guys and the guys enjoy each other, to really get to know each other we need to spend more time together so that’s the big challenge for us as a group to become one.

“For us as management we need to make the effort to create that time together.”

Chairman Martin St Quinton revealed he was now pleased that the proposed investment from billionaire Mohed Altrad was rejected by Premiership Rugby and is pleased with how the club is performing on and off the pitch.

He said: “The Altrad deal would have definitely brought some benefits to the club in the short-term but I grew increasingly uncomfortable with the way negotiations were going with Mohed Altrad and by the time the deal was voted out by the PRL I felt that maybe that was the right decision.

“Subsequent to that, I’ve been increasingly happy that the deal didn’t happen.

“We’ve got a very strong coaching group led by the big man (Ackermann) and behind the scenes things are also very strong.”

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GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 01: A general view of Kingsholm Stadium prior to the Aviva Premiership match between Gloucester Rugby and Exeter Chiefs at Kingsholm Stadium on September 1, 2017 in Gloucester, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Gloucester plan to host more fixtures next season once the new £1m hybrid surface is installed, with Vaughan saying he hopes other local teams and the Gloucester-Hartpury women’s team will be able to make use of it.

He said: “We want to do more on the pitch from a community perspective, getting some local teams playing here maybe before our matches or after our matches and certainly getting the Gloucester-Hartpury women’s team playing here more.

“We’re a community club and we want to use the pitch a bit more, clearly we can’t at the moment.”

The senior side will also train at Kingsholm more often, while Vaughan confirmed that the club will continue to stage concerts with at least one expected to be held this year before the new surface is laid.

“I’m confident we’ll have at least one, if not more this year,” said Vaughan.

And fans could also be given the chance to buy parts of the current pitch before it’s ripped up.

Vaughan said: “If there’s a demand for chunks of the Kingsholm turf I’m sure we’ll make ways of doing it.”

Johan Ackermann revealed he will be playing a strong side for Friday’s Anglo-Welsh Cup game against Ospreys, where a number of players who have missed a lot of rugby this season due to injuries will be given game time.

“We’re going to use the Anglo-Welsh games to get the players’ some match fitness so the team on Friday night for example will be quite a strong team,” said Ackermann.

“If we had a spreadsheet for minutes played and you’re not above a certain minutes you’re probably going to play both of these games or at least one of them.”

Ackermann said Gloucester have two options for the trip to Newcastle in the competition the following week – treat it as a “rehearsal for the Leicester game” by fielding a full-strength side ahead of the resumption of the Premiership or train them hard and give them a “weekend of recovery” to save them from a long trip to Newcastle.

“We’ll sit down after Friday to assess where we are,” said Ackermann.

“Once we make it, we’ll back it and live with the decision.”

Decision to be made on Matt Banahan’s best position

BATH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Bath wing Matt Banahan on the charge during the European Rugby Champions Cup match between Bath Rugby and Scarlets at Recreation Ground on January 12, 2018 in Bath, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The giant Bath back is the only confirmed signing so far for next season and Ackermann believes his ability to play at centre, wing or full-back will be vital, particularly if the squad is going to be smaller next season.

He said: “It’s great to have versatile players like Matt Banahan because the reality is with the salary cap to be competitive and to sign the best players that want to come to the club, you’re going to have injuries and you need players who can play more than one position.

“He must excel in one of them and must become a specialist and challenge and I’ll ask him where he wants to challenge - is it 12, is it 13, is it on the wing or full-back? Then he’ll have to put down a marker and challenge for that.

“The reality is your guys on the bench must cover more than one position and also during the season if you lose players, it’s great to have players with that ability.”

Plans to build a new megastore on the stadium site are still in the pipeline and Vaughan hinted there will be more changes to come.

“Just this week, we’ve been in conversations with architects,” he said.

“We are looking at a raft of potential changes at the stadium and that is part of it. We’re hoping to at least give some idea on scale and timescale in the next six months on what that will look like.”

Vaughan also said that they’ve done an audit of the whole stadium and improving the PA system is “definitely on the list.”

He added: “Hopefully at the end of this season, we’ll be speaking about a number of developments to bring to the stadium with regards to making the matchday experience more pleasurable place and hopefully we can give you some information on that at the same time.”

The club are also looking at having a fully assisted free Cloud wifi around the stadium for next season.